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Big Girls Don't Cry

Review

Big Girls Don't Cry



Fay Weldon's latest novel chronicles the adventures of five women
who launch Medusa, a feminist publishing house, in 1971. BIG GIRLS
DON'T CRY is both a history of the women's movement and a narrative
about the personal lives of its characters, Layla, Stephanie,
Alice, Nancy and Zoe.

In BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY, we watch these characters grow and change
over the years. They start out as idealistic twentysomethings ready
to conquer the world, and evolve into wiser women who are just as
committed to the cause as ever. Medusa grows and changes with
them.  Although it is once considered a groundbreaking
publishing house and becomes a respected mainstream press,
ultimately, Medusa is just passe.

If you're a person "of a certain age" you will probably identify
with one or more of these courageous women.  But even if
you aren't, there's a lot to be learned about the ups and downs of
the women's movement and the feminists who believed it was possible
to have it all.

Reviewed by Judith Handschuh on January 21, 2011

Big Girls Don't Cry
by Fay Weldon

  • Publication Date: September 2, 1999
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
  • ISBN-10: 0871137593
  • ISBN-13: 9780871137593